Online Web Design Degrees/Certificates

[ThisEndup]

I've been actively searching the internet for some good online courses for Web Design degrees/certificates. There's a lot of options out there and I'm unsure which to choose. I was wondering if anyone here has any experience or has heard anything about any of these programs.

The ones I'm seriously considering at the moment is sessions.edu, Baker College, and University of Pheonix Online.

Any insight would be appreciated, I'm swimming in info here and don't know where to go :b

[jo1ene]

May I ask, what are your reasons for obtaining such a certificate? To get a position with a web design firm? To work freelance/self-employed? Just for the heck of it?

I would think that taking a course/program locally would be a better option than doing something online, especially if you're looking for a job in your area.

Although, I qustion the real value of a "certificate" in the first place, unless a potential employer is looking for one.

[Tsuren]

ThisEndup, let me add my 2 cents. if ypou want to learn something - do not waste your time for courses. Just do it.

[digitalv]

A web design certification would be kinda like having a degree in "art". How qualified you are as a web desginer is based on how good your work is. Nothing more.

[outrun]

I agree with digitalv, instead of doing a web design course why not focus on getting some kind of degree in programming prefferably a web language maybe Java, C and C++ which will help you to code in PHP or the .Net platform, and learn web design on the side, I am finishing an Applied Computer Scince degree and there was an optional xhtml and html unit so I took it.

regards,
Mark

[ThisEndup]

Thank you for your all of your advice and information. I've reconsidered the degree/certificate route and decided it's not for me.

My situation is I am already pretty well experienced in web design, self taught and have been doing it for quite some time. I just always feel like I'm missing something by not being formally trained. I was looking for an online course to help fine tune and polish my training by someone with more experience than I. But my main reason was to learn some new technology, so I'm leaning towards sessions.edu because they offer individual courses on specific items.

But I'm still not sure, I'm leaning in every direction at the moment :) But again, thank you for the good advice.

[zulufox]

I went to Sessions.edu and was blown away by the course prices. $2729.00 US a CLASS?!?!?

Seriously you should just:

Buy 50 books (seriously 50) on all the topics you want from Photoshop to Java to PHP to Xhtml.

Buy all the programs you need: dreamweaver, photoshop, illustrator, etc...

Buy a cheaper desktop or laptop ($700-1000 or so) to learn linux, and screw up things without worrying about your main machine.

Buy some mutli-domain web hosting, perhaps even a VPS.

You could get all this and pay about the same amount as ONE class from sessions.edu

Then just sit back and dedicate yourself to one subject at a time, read like crazy, study like crazy, code like crazy.

[paybacksa]

Well, I am not a supporter of certification or formal ed. However, I did hire a webmaster with a Webmaster Certificate.

I needed someone who could do the job but was open to new ideas and would be able to learn. This person was graphically qualified, and html capable, but only thru that program did he know about server-side technologies (just knew about them, not how to do them) and most importantly that there were many ways to skin a beast.

Worked out well... over time we both learned just how poor the certificate program was technically, yet at the same time the "broadness" was a key success factor for retraining.

Now whether open minded people attend webmaster certificate programs, or certificate programs open minds.... I am not qualified to answer that ;-)

[ThisEndup]

Thank you all for the great advice! You all made me realize other possible routes I could take to recieve the same amount of training for less $$$ (Which was a big factor for someone finacially strapped as myself). I think I will purchase some books and snap the whip on myself.

[JonR28]

When you are done learning create a portfolio website. Do a few jobs for free to local charities/churches or someone. When you try to get a job in the webdesign world they look a lot at your portfolio. For instance, I know photoshop, 5 different web languages, 3 machine languages, and have certifications in hardware and software.... but I can't design worth crap. My stuff is downright ugly. I couldn't get a job as a web designer even though I know all that stuff. Its all about your ability and your portfolio.